Meet Kevin:

Serve the City’s New CSR Manager –

Interview with Christobelle Grierson-Ryrie

Kevin, our new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager at Serve the City Paris, brings a wealth of international experience and a strong commitment to social good. Born in Billings, Montana, Kevin first came to France as a teenager when he spent a year on a farm in the Pyrenees. He then lived in Seattle (where he did a BA in French), Chicago, and San Francisco, before returning to France to pursue an International Management and Sustainable Development master’s degree at the American University of Paris. After joining Serve as a volunteer in early 2024 and organizing several CSR events over the summer, he felt a natural fit with the organization and stepped into the CSR role when the opportunity arose.

CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility – a way in which private businesses engage in a particular form of philanthropy, giving back to communities in various ways: administering grants, donating directly to non-profits and other community-based organizations, encouraging employee volunteer programs, and engaging in ethical and fair business practices. In general, CSR falls into the category of “sustainability” and over the last several years, companies have become more aware of the need to give back to the community and monitor their environmental impact.

At Serve the City Paris, our CSR team aims to provide a conduit for international organizations to give back. As an English-language non-profit, we are able to cater to the international business community for whom English is often the common language. We offer programs in environmental clean-up, food distribution, language workshops, and more.

To Kevin, CSR is rooted in a desire to balance wealth and ensure that resources support both people and the planet. Kevin is aware of the limitations and the risk of “greenwashing,” however he’s dedicated to making CSR at Serve as impactful as possible.

At Serve the City, Kevin plans to expand current offerings and build partnerships with local organizations. While he believes that systemic social support should be addressed through policy changes, Kevin remains motivated to help meet community needs through Serve’s initiatives. Kevin believes that developing partnerships with local organizations will increase our outreach and our ability to meaningfully help our beneficiaries that find themselves in challenging situations.

Kevin emphasizes that CSR initiatives are already active in various forms across Paris, ‘Parisians often do volunteer work and give back. I have met people who do everything from community gardening to food distribution to mentoring. So, there is already a sense of “giving back” that I think is important and deserves to be fostered and encouraged.’